Grilled Chicken Nicoise Salad

This past May, my mom and I took a weeklong trip to Paris, and it was delicious.

As you can imagine, most of the trip revolved around eating, from our pastry making class to our food tour of Le Marais (cheese, charcuterie and chocolate, oh my!), to my daily morning trek in search of the perfect croissant……which I finally found three miles from our rented apartment.

Oh yeah. I earned every buttery, flaky bite.

We also did our share of culinary shopping. I mean, when in Paris….

One of our favorite finds was the adorable Maille mustard shop at Place de la Madeleine, a must visit for a mayonnaise-avoider like myself, whose condiment of choice will always be mustard.

Now, I was familiar with Maille’s Dijon Originale and Old Style Whole Grain varietals, which are both widely distributed, but I had no idea what I was in for when I entered the shop.

In short, it was mustard heaven.

For those of you who don’t know, Maison Maille has been making mustard since 1747, and they are famous for producing an exquisite array of tastes and textures in their 80+flavors.

Inside, rows upon rows of uniquely named mustards in colorful jars were stacked from floor to ceiling.

This was going to be tough. I grabbed a basket and started filling it up.

I ended up with a good varietal, which we are still working our way through at home (but it’s disappearing quickly!) The mustards make outstanding dipping sauces for sausages, and they are fun inspiration for elevated sandwiches or to pair with cheese and charcuterie plates. Definitely one of my best purchases in Paris!

(If you’re fortunate enough to live in New York, London, Dijon, Sydney or Melbourne, Maille has shops in these cities, too.)

The mustards were boxed in this handy wooden crate at checkout, perfect for carrying back home. A smart option for the many, many tourists that were visiting the shop.

One of my favorite parts of “Maison Maille” were the mustards that they had “on tap,” which the saleslady would pour on the spot into these cute, reusable ceramic jars. I opted for the truffle varietal, which tastes unbelievably good on a slice of aged Gruyere cheese.

MAILLE GIVEAWAY!!

I hardly ever do giveaways on this blog. In fact, I think this might be my third giveaway in over 400 posts. That said, if I really love a product and want to spread the love to my readers, then yes, I will promote the heck out of it. After I returned from Paris, I contacted the friendly folks at Maille and asked if they would partner with me to create a gift pack of products for one of you.

Here’s the opportunity for you to win a selection of Maille products with which you can experiment, including:

All of these…..along with an adorable little mustard serving spoon all beautifully packaged in a box.

C’est splendide! N’est-ce pas?

In honor of the giveaway, also created a new recipe, inspired by both Maille’s wonderful products and these last few weeks of summer, during which I find myself outside grilling more often than not. Here, I’ve taken a traditional French recipe, Nicoise salad, and given it a healthy summer barbecue twist, incorporating grilled chicken and vegetables drizzled with a sweet and tangy maple-mustard vinaigrette.

Be sure to make extra vinaigrette, as I did in the recipe. It’s bound to become a new favorite.

To enter the giveaway (U.S. residents, only), please either leave a comment below, telling me your favorite kind of mustard, or tweet me with your favorite kind (@pbandjulie) and be sure to use the hashtag #myMaille.

1 pound small to medium-sized ripe red tomatoes (I used a mixture of vine-ripened and large cherry tomatoes)

1 pound green beans, trimmed

4 large hardboiled eggs, peeled and quartered

20-30 Castelvetrano olives

1/2 cup chopped salted Marcona almonds (optional)

Instructions

Prepare the salad dressing: In a large bowl, whisk maple syrup, shallot, mustard, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper until well combined. Transfer the dressing to a small pitcher or serving container, cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Note: This recipe makes about 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) dressing, so you will likely have some leftover.

Drizzle the chicken breasts on both sides with a generous amount of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Rub the rosemary into the chicken breasts. Place the seasoned chicken into a zip-top bag, seal, and chill for 30 minutes.

Heat the grill to medium hot, placing a flat grill pan or a professional grill pan (something that keeps small pieces from falling through the grill grates) on one side of the grill.

Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the potatoes, tomatoes and green beans on the foil and coat them with olive oil. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper.

Grill the chicken breasts, grill lid down, until they are cooked through, turning once, 4-5 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate to cool.

Grill the potatoes tomatoes and green beans on the grill pan until they are lightly charred and tender, turning occasionally. The green beans and tomatoes will take much less time than the potatoes, so remove them to a foil-line sheet pan when they are done.

Slice the chicken breasts on the bias.

On a large platter, arrange the chicken, potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, eggs and olives in groups.

Serve the platter alongside the Maple-Mustard Dressing and the almonds, for sprinkling on top.

This looks so good! Do you think snap peas would work instead of green beans? My favourite mustard was a sweet honey-balsamic mustard I bought and couldn’t ever find again… Sadness! Thanks for the recipe!

The mustard with onions and balsamic hit the spot with sausages, sandwich spreads, as well as for a salad dressing. I love the grainy country mustards to use with prosciutto and cheese in making pinwheels but think I will try some of the other flavors instead the next time I prepare them.

Loved your article. The salad looked wonderful! Please come make it for us!!!

Meet Julie

What kind of food does Peanut Butter and Julie have in store for you? Well, honestly, a little bit of everything. I like to describe myself as “A self-taught cook and baker, who loves to produce food that is unique yet approachable, using only the best ingredients in my made-from-scratch creations.” I don’t really make anything that is over-the-top fancy, although as a serial restaurant patron, I am more than happy to eat and critique anything over-the-top fancy. Rather, I like to take dishes that may be more of a celebrity chef’s speed, use them as inspiration for flavors, and bring them down to a “Hey! I can do that!” level. Sound good? Great, read on!